Advent: O Magnum Mysterium

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I love Christmas. Not the commercialism, insanity, or kitsch associated with it, but the time with my family, the music and carols that I like (usually not the ones heard in department stores), the food, the warmth, the giving and the sparkles.

My ideal Christmas is simple, intimate and serene. I like time to contemplate the birth of my Savior and its surrounding events, and I like time spent with kith and kin.

In the spirit of this kind of Christmas celebration, I decided to have my own little Advent Countdown on my blog. As music is one of my favorite aspects of this holiday, I will post some of my favorite carols through December 25th. I wanted to do this daily, but time simply will not allow. Therefore, I will confine myself to three posts a week, plus one extra for Christmas Eve. This leaves me with a lot of beloved songs un-shared, but perhaps I can make this a yearly tradition.

May these posts bring you joy!

First, a song that I grew up with, one that captures some of the Great Mystery that surrounds the world we live in. Creation is strange and familiar, patterned and unpredictable, lucid and murky.

What a wonderful idea! To journey through Advent by means of music and text. My own favourite setting of this is by Morten Lauridsen. I was introduced to it by Peter Smith, Director of the Malvern Festival here in England, and founder of the Aldwyn Voices, a wonderful choir who have invited me to share in their annual sequence of words and music for Advent and Christmas in Tewkesbury Abbey for a number of years now. Peter always crafts this event so beautifully and every year he gives me something new to feed upon. I think what I love about this text is the placing of the incarnation and the sacrament among the animal world of which we are a part, and of course the totally wonderful and always ordinary world of childbirth.

Peter Smith designs the Sequence for performance by his choir at Tewkesbury Abbey on the 2nd Sunday of Advent each year and for a number of years now I have given the final reading followed by a prayer and blessing. I have no idea as I arrive at the Abbey how my reading fits into the rest of the sequence as he never shares it so the whole occasion is a journey of discovery with wonders to be found every year. It was only broadcast once on the BBC because Laurie Lee read his work as part of the sequence one year. A shame because that means that only a local audience hears it.

This is beautiful. Thanks for sharing it and thanks for making your blog a safe place to enjoy the season. Every year let my fussing over consumerism, debt, commercialism, overconsumption and the like just suck the joy out of it. Thanks for the reminder of how beautiful it should be.

This is lovely! I can’t wait to see (or hear, I guess) the rest of the carols you post. I always love at church when they start slipping carols into our worship around this time, all to whet our excitement for our Christmas Eve candlelight service which is the best service of the year, no question.

[…] We are now solidly in the Advent season, a time of joy and celebration for the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! If you’re looking for some lovely carols to listen to, Jubilare is doing a series this month with some of her favorites. Start here! […]